A Cautionary Tale
by Lucy Marigold
Summary: "I can't negotiate with them! They don't understand what the consequences will be if I don't help them!" After a brief stint in the local prison before being released, Dipper Pines resumes his duties. But not before trying to prepare to negotiate with the world leaders. Not to mention high school is beginning. And then he returns. (Sequel to 'Familiar and 'Youth)


**A/N And here it is, the beginning of the last part of this trilogy. Wow, this has come so far hasn't it?**

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**Prologue.**

There was a loud _buzzt_ as the cell door opened and a female figure stepped inside the padded cell. The off-white walls were a sickly grey and a single mattress on top of an old cot sat in the corner. Human necessities sat on the other end, sitting unused despite the cell having been occupied for over a month. The woman's heels squished against the ground, striking the padding softly.

Sitting on the dirty cot was a teenage boy, countless papers laid out before him as he mumbled under his breath. His chestnut brown hair was matted in some places, a slightly dirty orange set of pants and a shirt were stained with ash in a few spots. His bare feet were riddled with minor cuts. He looked skinny despite being well-fed. "Mason Pines?" The woman greeted, lipstick-stained teeth showing through her false smile.

"Dipper. Only the people I allow to call me that, call me that. I'd prefer it if you called me Dipper." The boy mumbled, glancing up from his work before looking back down. "Why are you here?" Dipper finally looked up at the women, fulling taking her in. She was tall, a black shirt only just long enough to cover certain areas. She wore a striped green blouse that clashed with her makeup horribly. He let loose a small snort, thinking about how his sister would have a field day with her style in general.

Her hair was straw blonde, hanging limply like a wig across her shoulders. She didn't seem to notice his snort.

"I'm here to escort you to the visitation area." She stated.

Dipper looked at her in confusion. "I thought my visitation rights had been revoked after I burnt that TV down thirty days ago." He mumbled, thinking to himself more than asking her.

"This situation negates the need for that. Now, come with me, Mason." Her wicked looking smile made Dipper shiver with unease as he neatly placed the documents he had been sorting through to the side. He stumbled up, brushing his pants with the palms of his hands. Almost like a miracle, the clothing cleaned itself, shedding it's grim. He dragged a hand through his mess of hair, it returning to the best it could manage of its former glory.

The woman stared. His hair still retained a pale and sickly look despite how clean it appeared. Dipper stumbled forward, motioning for the women to lead him out of the cell. She slapped a pair of handcuffs over his hand, preventing a large amount of movement. He shuffled after the women, ignoring the path they were taking.

A month and five days. He had been here for a month and five days.

The Demon King had avoided war by going into the custody of the Government. It was a simple and casualty-free path he had taken. It could of been vastly different. Back in that clearing.

His thoughts were derailed as he watched the women pause, a guard glancing at Dipper before stiffening with alarm. The well-padded guard was shaking in his heavy duty boots, his taser held close to his chest. A smile grew on the teenager's face, showing his inhumane caines. "Officer Daveson. How's the family?" Dipper asked, addressing the man by his last name as the women stared down at him.

Daveson just sternly grunted despite the fear, pressing a hand against the button beside the door as it rattled open. Dipper waved goodbye as he was led towards the visitation area.

The visitation area of the Gravity Falls prison was more or less terrible. It was just a bunch of tables with almost broken plastic chairs. A single vending machine sat in the corner, multiple holes in the glass where people had punched through. Off-brand snacks and drinks were all that were available. It was normally quite busy at this time of day, the after lunch rush was an ideal time for people to visit the incarcerated.

Although, today, there was no one but the man sitting at a single table, two large men with shades standing side by side by his shoulders. He was a popular man among Americans. After all, he was the Vice-President of the United States.

Joe Biden was his visitor.

It didn't surprise Dipper as much as it should have to ordinary people. He had already predicted what was going to happen up until this point.

"Why hello." Dipper slyly greeted, slipping into a plastic chair as he crossed his arms. The guards nearby snapped a chain to the cuffs that were burning his wrists slightly.

"Mason Pines, it's a pleasure to meet you." The Vice-President responded, holding out a hand. Dipper instantly grasped it, feeling a rush of euphoria rushing through him as he did so. He smiled wickedly, leaning back in his chair. He wasn't the same person he had been last summer. "That women over there is Lucinda, she's my assistant."

"The pleasure is all mine. But please, call me Dipper." Dipper just stared at the strange woman, not fully trusting her presence.

"Alright, Dipper. Now, you're probably wondering why I am here. I'm here to propose a way out of your… situation." He had paused, trying to describe what was going on but ended up describing it in such a senile way.

"Oh yes. You're going to ask me to provide military support due to the fact you cannot kill any of my people and you, as an American, want to use that against other countries. I may only be thirteen but I know quite a lot more than any mortal being, _Mr Biden._" The cheerful tone of the conversation had completely fallen, one of the bodyguards even moving to place a hand beside his hip. Dipper twirled his finger, a blue flame following the path created by the tip. The bodyguards became even more startled.

Dipper smirked, waving his hand as the table in front of them became alight with blue flames, hovering just above the plastic surface, too cold to burn the material. An image began to form, a map of America becoming visible. "You see, I know for a fact that you've divided my people across the nearby states, including Washington and California. Firstly, I'd love it if you returned all my people to Gravity Falls." Tiny figures formed across Oregon, Washington and California, a large amount of them gathered where Gravity Falls was located.

"How do you know that? That's classified information! Why do you refer to them as your 'people'?" The Vice-President seemed alarmed, glancing at the woman beside him.

"Because they are my people." Dipper replied bluntly, eyes flicking from chestnut brown to a dangerously bright yellow before returning back. "_Didn't they tell you I wasn't human anymore._" He smiled even wider, extremely sharp and unnatural teeth glinting. Joe seemed even more frightened. "I _could_ end your existence right now. But there would be political turmoil if I did. You know it's funny that you incarcerated me for '_illegal immigraion_'. You wanna know something about our good old founding fathers? Most of them were illegal immigrants. But that's beside the point. Now, I demand you revoke my crimes and free my people."

"You can't be serious." Lucinda scoffed.

"I assure you. **I AM.**" Dipper growled, slamming a hand against the table as the flames vanished in a burst. The woman jerked back, the Vice-President seemingly unfazed by Dipper's threats at this point. Threats had become common in this conversation. There were a few minutes of silence, the tension between the two parties growing ever so slightly.

"Deal." Was all the second in command muttered, motioning to his bodyguard to pull out a stack of paper. The guard placed it onto the table, the thick stack of paper landing with a thump.

"Sir, you can't be-"

"Lucinda, enough. Listen here, kid, I'll release you from here on the terms that you provide military support should the need arise." He laid out his proposition, thrusting the papers towards Dipper. The young man lifted the papers up, shifting through them gingerly. After a minute or so, he lowered them to the plastic table. In a flash of blue flames, a small black pen appeared in the teenager's hand. He began to sign the papers as he thought to himself.

The month of isolation had served him well in practicing at his highest caliber. He could conquer anything. But he had limits. Without recent dealings, he could barely maintain what he had left. Simple party tricks such as summoning a pen was straining at this point. The small task of summoning that map and rapidly healing the small burns the cuffs created made Dipper feel slightly dizzy. He rubbed his forehead gingerly. And with such a rapid draining of magic in this instance, Dipper felt his organs complain as his insides grumbled.

With one last flourish, he finished signing the documents. Desperate to sedate the pains, he spoke up. "One last thing, Mr Biden. I'd like to seal the deal in a more _personal_ way." Dipper trust out a hand as far as he could with the chains tugging, a slight smirk appearing on his face. Confused, the man just grabbed it back, a cobalt flame bursting between them as Dipper felt the deal becoming complete.

Guards pulled out their guns, one even pressing it into Dipper temple as he released the Vice-President's hand. "Look!" He spluttered, raising his hands in defence as the flames completely vanished. "It's fine. It wasn't harmful, was it?" He asked.

The Vice-President just glanced at his hand, slightly startled. He jerked his head up, almost as if he had just noticed the guns pointed at Dipper. "Oh! No, it wasn't harmful whatsoever. You can lower your weapons men." The guards eased back as a silence fell onto them.

"Can I have a moment?" He asked, jabbing a finger towards the vending machine after a minute or so of complete and utter silence. "I just need a quick snack." Man opposite him just nodded, the closest guard unlocking the cuffs. This allowed the teenager to rise to his feet. Bare feet slapped against the ground as he walked over to the machine. He twirled his hand and a few dollar bills appeared in his fingers. He yawned, inserting the cash as he pressed a button.

A packet of off-brand, plain, Doritos landed in the chute, Dipper pressing the bent hatch open to retrieve them. He instantly walked back, being clipped to the table. A door nearby opened as he was sitting back to his seat, half open bag of chips in his hands, a triangular chip in his fingers. "Sir, sorry we're… late." A familiar voice spoke. Dipper's content mood instantly vanished, the chip in his grasp being crushed into dust. Two Agents appeared in the doorway, both holding coffee and donuts.

Dipper slammed the chip bag onto the table, smashing a few.

"You **bastards**." Dipper growled, his voice dripping with venom at seeing the two men, Powers and Triggers. The temperature suddenly dropped. "Why the **fuck** are they here?" The guards had pulled out their guns. Dipper jerked up, tiny flames licking at his feet as crystallized fire swarmed around them. He took a step forward before being yanked back by the chains connected to the table and the cuffs burning through his wrists. His fingertips became black, the runes on his arm sparking with a wicked azure glow.

"Oh shit! Someone call-" One guard shouted to another, a radio being tossed over. Dipper raised his hand above the chains.

"Stop it!" A voice Dipper hadn't heard in quite a while cutting through. He instantly froze, hand hovering just above before looking behind the agents to see a person he hadn't seen for a month.

A starry blue sweater with pale white dots. A yellow skirt with a pair of signature black flats. A magenta headband atop chestnut brown hair. A pair of chestnut brown eyes wandered to Dipper's own, a bittersweet look appearing in her eyes.

"Mabel...?" Dipper whispered, surprise shaking in his voice. His anger instantly melted, his body returning to normal as he shoulders slouched. "W-What are... you doing here?" The young teenager tackled her twin in a tight embrace, Dipper standing stoic in surprise. Even the guards had lowered their pistols, the two Agents instantly leaving the room. A slight tear slipped from his eye, splashing onto the ground. He felt pitiful for letting emotions such as sadness slip through.

"I'm here to get you out, silly." She had changed so much since he had last seen her. Her braces were gone and her smile was clearer than the sky on a summer day. Her hair was shorter, cropped around her shoulders. He placed a hand against her head, fully embracing her as he felt her smooth hair. He didn't want to let go but he had to. Slowly, turning with a stirn look towards the Vice-President.

"Are we done here?" He said curtly, gripping onto Mabel's hand gingerly.

"Yes. You're free to gather your stuff. Lucinda will escort you out and back to your residents." The Vice-President spoke, rising to his feet. "It was nice meeting you, Mason." He didn't hold out a hand this time. With that final goodbye, he walked out of the room, escorted by two bodyguards. Another guard detached Dipper from the table, roughly pushing him down the hallway. Mabel walked a few paces back, already overwhelming him with new information.

/(I)\

"-And then Waddles ate Buddy's shoe. It was quite funny." His twin chuckled, leaning backwards on the cot where she sat. Dipper sorted through his documents as she spoke. A box was clutched between Mabel's hands, the teenager helping her brother sort through."Did you know that there's a lot of demons and people alike protesting outside, Dip?"

"Are they? Hmmm, I haven't really been allowed out since Monday. I was caught fighting." He muttered those last words with utter bitterness. "What are they protesting about?"

"Your imprisonment. I even saw Sheriff Blubs and Deputy Durland with them. They've been planning a protest for a few weeks. And then the Vice-President showed up." She paused, almost as if she was processing the rest of his words. She glanced up, a look of confusion on her face. "Hey, what do you mean _fighting_? Oh geez, you aren't hurt are you?" Her concern instantly grew. She placed a hand on his shoulder as he turned and looked up at her.

"All the demon prisoners were placed here. I'm surprised the Government figured out their crimes. I might have… gotten into a fight with Tad." He sheepishly stated, rubbing the back of his neck. "He insulted my leadership, the flipping jerk! Most of the demons here respect me. It's more or less mutual. Some wanted me to help them reform. It's nice though, at least I've got someone on my side in this horrible place. The demons, they're separated most of the time from the mortals which I'm less than pleased about." Dipper explained with a hint of spite. He let loose a shutter, rubbing his rune-covered arm as he filled the duffel bag nearby with his personal clutter.

"That sounds mean." Mabel scrunched her face, pulling out a few books before tossing them into the bag. "It's been… lonely without you around, Dip. Great Uncle Ford hasn't left the basement for a month. And Stan, well, Stan is doing the best he can." She mumbled, her cheerful demeanour slipping for a second. "But it's okay. Now you can come back. And we can have water balloon fights, eat candy until midnight, draw funny things on Ford's hand, make fun of Grunkle Stan and-and… What am I missing?"

"You're missing the fact that we'll be together. Through thick and thin, Mabes." He chuckled, twinging his pinkie around her own with a smile.

"That sounds better than Grunkle Stan's Stancakes." He smiled for the first time in quite a while.

"Exactly."

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